


Until The End

by embarrassingresultofmyfreetime



Series: Partners In Crime (Collection) [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gen, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Fluff, Mutual Pining, Relationship open to interpretation, non-gender-specific reader, sort of established relationship, this was a request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29496756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime/pseuds/embarrassingresultofmyfreetime
Summary: You and the Master have been traveling together for some time now and you begin to worry about the lengths he's willing to go to in order to keep you safe.When push comes to shove and he faces being taken away from you forever, he finally reveals his motives.Prompt: "I would die for you, without thinking"
Relationships: Dhawan!Master x Reader - Relationship, The Master (Dhawan)/Reader, The Master (Doctor Who)/Reader
Series: Partners In Crime (Collection) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2169414
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Until The End

**Author's Note:**

> Written By Request:  
> "I would die for you, without thinking" w Dhawan!Master x Reader
> 
> WARNINGS: minor kidnapping of reader for all of 5 minutes, mild violence (mostly implied), minor injuries to the Master, weapons mentioned  
> I don't really think this needs any warnings but that's everything I can think of to declaimer lol
> 
> Enjoy!

Historically speaking, there's never been a situation the two of you can't get out of.

You and the Master have been through all sorts of death-defying adventures together. No matter where you go or what you do, no matter who attempts to stop you or stands in your way, you always look out for each other. The two of you are a powerful force that anyone with an ounce of self-preservation knows not to reckon with.

The Master is quick, and clever, with a sharp sense for danger and the knowhow to escape it. To balance, you're more thoughtful- you can see the details he may overlook and your input can make all the difference in the success of an endeavour.

He's protective of you and quick to defend you from the horrors of this dark universe and, in return, you're patient with him and clever enough to help think up an escape before things take a turn for the worse. No matter the odds or the situation, the two of you are always able to make it out safely and return to the whim of his Tardis.

You just wish he would be a little more careful.

Ever since the two of you began traveling together, you've noticed how he always puts himself between you and everyone else at the first sign of danger.

When push comes to shove- on the off chance someone gets the jump on the pair of you (usually with a plan to get retribution on the Master for something he did long ago)- the Master's first instinct is to pull you out of harm's reach.

If someone throws a punch in your direction, he quickly interferes with no regard for himself. When someone draws a weapon, he thinks nothing of it before shielding your body with his own.

He tells you it's no bother to him. Nothing even worth acknowledging. He assured you can handle it.

He says that Time Lords are far more durable than humans and he has a higher tolerance for pain anyways.

He brushes off your concern and explains- as if it's fact- that you're more fragile than he is. It simply **makes sense** that if anyone has to take a hit, it should be him instead of you.

You wish he would just admit the real reason: that he doesn't want to see you hurt over his mistakes.

You know it hurts him to see you scared or in pain. From the way he acts, the foregone conclusion is that the physical pain he endures is far less than the strain it would take on his hearts to see you injured.

-

The first time you were ever harmed was early on in your travels together. A small group of bounty hunters- who were in way over their heads- had the 'bright' idea to capture you to use as bait. Thereafter, they could lure the Master into a trap, contain him, and cash him in for the high reward on his head set by the Shadow Proclamation.

Attempting to go after one of the most dangerous people who ever lived was the bounty hunters' first mistake- but hurting you was their last.

They snatched you from the edge of the busy town square you and the Master were visiting, and tied you up at the end of a narrow alley. Bait set and ambush in place, they hinted to the Master where to find his friend who had supposedly wandered away.

As the Master approached from the brighter end of the thin strip of crumbling pavement, you yelled a muffled warning from the other end. His eyes flashed in fear at the sight of you.

"Are you okay?" he demands firmly.

You're quite shaken up, and more than a little scared, but you attempt to give a reassuring nod.

The bounty hunters block the Master's way before he can reach you. They quickly box him in, but he barely acknowledges them.

They don't bother offering a deal. They know that someone of the Master's infamy and reputation would never go quietly.

The Master ignores the various weapons glinting in their hands.

"Did they hurt you?" he asks in a burning cold expression. His eyes are set in a deep rage and he's breathing heavily. He's already made up his mind, but he looks to you for something. Maybe justification- or maybe just a green light.

You can still feel the bruises of strong hands on your upper arms from where they dragged you about. Your wrists are scratched up from the rope.

It's nothing really. And maybe the way they shoved you to the ground had scratched up your palms and the hard pavement bruised your knees, but it was nothing that wouldn't heal. Still... you can't bring yourself to lie to him. You look away in shame.

His expression hardens into a firm stare. He looks to you through the shadows and you catch the light burn in his dark eyes as he reaches for his pocket.

"Close your eyes," he tells you.

His tone is firm, but there's a reassuring promise in his tone. He doesn't want you to be scared. He wants you to close your eyes, like a scary scene in a horror film, and in a minute, he can ensure it will be over.

If you don't see it, the images can't haunt you. He knows this, and it's why he suggests you don't watch the scene that's about to unfold.

So you close your eyes.

The Master pulls a knife and tears through your captures like they're nothing.

You hear them shout. You hear them scream. You hear them go silent.

You hear the sound of the Master's shoes crossing the stone that you know must be painted in blood to reach you.

"Keep them closed," he says as he cuts the ropes away from their hold on you.

You can feel his fury fade into deep concern as he examines you. He takes your hands carefully, and turns you away from the mess.

You still have fearful tears in your eyes until they run down your face in relief at his touch. Your skin is bruised and your muscles are strained from where your captors had pinned your arm behind your back as they yanked you about.

But it's alright. You're perfectly safe now.

The Master carefully leads you away- both your hands in both of his- through the mess and back to his ship.

Only once you're away from the mess does he tell you to open your eyes.

He promises, with deep sincerity, that he'll never let something like this happen again.

-

You can see that same fear in his eyes every time there's danger.

The fear that anyone would dare hurt you, and/or scare you, just to get to him.

He always promises you'll be safe traveling with him- and he always delivers. At any cost.

-

"Why do you always do this?" you ask with a heavy heart as you bandage up the Master's arm after a different escape from a batch of intergalactic law-enforcers.

In the latest fight, he had gotten shoved into a shattered pane of glass during the tussle, whose shards had left gashes down his forearm. He loves a clever challenge, but instead of thinking his way out- he threw himself in head first the second a weapon was pointed in your direction. You wonder why he acts so carelessly, without any concern for his own well being.

You suspect you might already know the answer, but you wish he would tell you himself.

"Those Shadow Proclamation goons had it coming," he grumbles in return.

You both know that's not the kind of answer you were looking for.

 **You** don't get injured anymore, but **he does**. You don't like to see him hurt either.

"You didn't have to take on that armed guard with your bare hands," you reason.

"He pointed a blaster at you. I couldn't have him firing at us while we made our escape," the Master says flatly.

You finish fitting the bandage into place and then hug him with a sigh.

You know he would have never done that if he has been by himself. He would **love** laughing madly as he escaped while being fired at. However, when you're there, it's suddenly not a risk worth taking.

You wish he would admit why he does it, but he's not good with the emotional aspect of things. He prefers to show his affections rather than of saying them. You decide not to press.

"I know," you smile sadly, "I just worry."

He pulls his good arm around you.

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you," he promises wholeheartedly.

"I know," you smile. "It's you I worry about."

The Master does his best to brush off the heavy feeling and comfort you warmly instead.

"Hundreds of years of time and space? I can handle myself. They don't give out the title of 'Master' to just anyone you know."

His small joke makes you chuckle.

"Right. Of course. My mistake." you smile. "No need to worry."

-

Still, you **do** worry.

His self-sacrificing instinct appears to know no bounds.

He's always putting himself in danger for you. He always takes the hit for you.

For someone so elegant and clever, he'll throw himself head first into things he would never bother with if he was on his own.

The worst of it comes when the authorities finally catch up.

-

They've been onto him for ages now, but it's not until he gets the coordinates wrong that it's an issue. The government of some far off star system- one of whose planets the Master is personally responsible for blowing up- sic nearly their entire military on him.

The pair of you don't have any reason to suspect it until it's far too late. All at once, you realize you won't make it back to his Tardis before cuffs are being clamped to your wrists.

"Don't you dare!" is the Master's first response as he scolds the guard for grabbing your arm.

He rams his full body weight into the guard closest to you and glares down anyone who gets within arm's length.

"It's okay," you promise, in a weak attempt to reassure him. Even with you both in cuffs, he's more concerned about your wellbeing than his own.

"You have me. This doesn't concern anyone else!" the Master hisses.

The fully equipt guards are careful but unrelenting.

"Your partner is just as responsible. Aiding a criminal is its own offense. Especially the likes of you," one guard advises.

The Master does **not** like that one bit.

"You won't lay **one finger** on my partner. You think devastating **one** **planet** was bad? You haven't seen **anything** yet!" he snaps sharply to the leader of the force.

"Your threats are meaningless," the lead guard replies as he shoves the Master along.

The Master sharply breaks away and runs to you. His wrists are locked together, but it makes no difference as he reaches his arms over your head and pulls you safely to his chest. He refuses to let the guards break the two of you apart and no one attempts to do so.

"You know who I am! You know what I'm capable of!" he growls.

The guards simply stare.

"However," the Master adds more quietly. "Allow me to take on all charges you wish to put to my partner."

He looks to you, your face not far from his, "Let my partner go free, and I'll go quietly."

"You can't do that!" you protest.

The guards consider this.

"You'll face the rest of your existence behind bars- if you're lucky," a guard informs the Master.

The Master doesn't appear to care.

"But someone like me, it's worth my capture- isn't it? Worth dropping a few charges to ensure I go willingly?" the Master negotiates.

You shake your head.

"You can't do that-"

"It's possible," the lead guard slowly agrees after deliberating for a moment.

"Wait- No- No!" you protest. "You can't! I can't let you do that!"

The Master looks to you, with his arms protectively around you.

He smiles, sadly.

"Don't you get it by now?" he chuckles with tears in his eyes. "You're all that matters. You're safety and your happiness are the only things I care about. I would die for you, without thinking- without hesitation, in a single beat of my hearts.

I got you into this mess, and I'll get you out," he promises.

Tears quickly flood your own eyes so fast you nearly choke on them.

"No! Absolutely not!" you protest.

He lets you go and lifts his cuffed arms so he can step away. He then lowers them and takes your hands in his. He locks your fingers tightly together.

"Before you agreed to travel with me, there were very few things I cared about," he confesses.

This suddenly sounds like a goodbye....

"You make all of this worth it. You made me **care** about living again.

If you're captured with me, the authorities will most likely put you to death for helping me and... I don't want to live in a world without you."

His hands lock onto yours even tighter.

"All this time I've been worried that if you get scared or injured... you'll... leave me."

The Master shakes his head, "It's selfish, but now that I know you... I could never again bear a world without you.

Let me keep my promise. Let me keep you safe. Go see the universe without me." He smiles, sadly yet resigned to his decision, "I'm certain you'll be as amazing as always."

He lets go of your hands and you're too in shock to reply for a moment.

He gives you a reassuring smile. It's falsely optimistic and brighter than it has any right to be.

His dark eyes sparkle in the light and then- all too soon- he turns away.

A guard unlocks your cuffs as another guard leads the Master away.

The Master doesn't protest.

You don't know what to say. You don't know what to do.

He's walking away, most likely to his death or at the very least the rest of his existence alone.

You-

You can't stand for this.

You're scared, and your heart is aching. Suddenly, you're feeling all the things the Master has dedicated his existence to shielding you from.

For someone so smart, there's something he's forgotten to take into account:

**You love him too.**

You swipe the weapon from the guard walking away from you and swiftly take the blaster from the holster on the hip of the guard escorting the Master away.

Everyone freezes in place as you draw back the hammers with a threatening, simultaneous double-click.

Your hands are shaking- a deadly weapon in each hand- but in a strange way, you know what you're doing.

You've never done something like this before. You've only seen movies and these weapons are more alien than human in design.

You take a warning shot to check.

The bang startles everyone as you fire into the distance.

They work alright.

You point one at each guard remaining guard. The others had begun to retreat at the Master's compliance, but they hurry back at the loud sound.

Your hands are a bit shaky, and now you're now sharply aware of the kickback. Given both the circumstances, as well as your inexperience at such a craft, your aim is undoubtedly terrible. However, you're just crazy enough to give it a try anyway if pressed.

Luckily, the guards aren't eager to test you.

"No one move!" you demand.

The guards slowly put their hands up, unsure how to proceed. No one had been expecting this.

"What are you doing?!" the Master turns to you with fearful eyes.

You shake your head sadly.

"You **idiot** ," you then scold the Master weakly.

"I don't want to live in a world without you either," you promise him.

You attempt to give him a reassuring smile through the tears at the edges of your vision.

" **You're** what matters to **me** ," you promise with aching honesty.

He swallows nervously, then gives a nod.

He smiles, weakly. His lips and fingers shiver.

He approaches you, slowly, and carefully takes the weapons from your hands.

You're relieved to let them go.

You have what it takes, but you don't **want** to hurt anyone. You're thankful he understands.

Yet again, he puts himself between you and danger. His locked cuffs force him to hold the weapons awkwardly as he trains his sights on the guards. Still, his hands are much more at home around the blasters than yours.

Neither of you are scared anymore.

You hug him from behind for a moment. It only begins to sink how close you were to never being able to touch him again.

"Close your eyes," he instructs softly over his shoulder.

You nod and duck your head.

-

Soon you're back at his Tardis.

You don't know what went down, but you have a good idea from what you heard. At the very least, you can safely assume that all the guards are dead.

The weapons were loud and you're still shaken, but you do your best not to show it.

Once the Master picks the lock on his cuffs, tosses them aside, and takes the Tardis- and therefore the both of you- to the other side of the universe.

Once you're far away from danger- in both space and time- the Master pulls you into a hug and allows you to stay close for a long time.

He lets you lock your arms tight around him and hide your face in his shoulder. His clothes are surprisingly soft and more importantly- you're safe in his arms.

And he's safe in yours.

You're always safe as long as you're with him. And you swear to yourself that you'll do better to keep **him** safe in return.

It must have been **hours** before you finally broke the silence.

"Don't you dare try to die for me again," you tell him.

You might be shaky, but you make sure he understands that this isn't optional.

He chuckles warmly. You want to be angry, but you're thankful that his smile eases the tension after everything that had just happened.

"Your safety is my priority-" he begins.

You quickly shut down that line of thinking.

"Your safety is **my** priority! Don't you dare do that again!" you beg of him.

He stops trying to brush it off and nods instead. He hugs you tighter in return.

"Alright. I suppose I **am** the best one for the job. I can't very well protect you if I die," he reasons.

You shake your head with a small laugh and sigh.

"I love you too," you tell him.

You can feel him tense in your grasp.

After a moment, he settles against you.

"Yes..." he agrees quietly, as if he's only now considering the possibility for the very first time.

"And... **perhaps** , I've grown quite fond of you as well," he says softly.

You chuckle.

He might not know how to say it, but he's certainly proven it time and time again. He's shown it so many times now that even if he can't explain it, his actions speak more than loud enough.

"Thank you. For saving me," the Master adds softly.

You hug him ever so slightly tighter, to reassure him.

"It was the least I could do. I certainly wasn't going to let them take you away and kill you."

He briefly rubs a hand over your upper back.

"Yes. I appreciate that."

You pause.

"I'm not going to leave you, you know," you say as you think back to his earlier words. "Even if I get hurt, even when I'm scared- I've **never** considered leaving. You look out for me, and I look out for you. Until the end."

You smile constantly.

The Master pauses.

"And what I do," he says slowly, carefully, nervously. "It must scare you.

When I have to get us out of those situations. When I have to do whatever's necessary... to keep us safe....

Doesn't it scare you? Don't you ever consider that you would be safer if you... **didn't** travel with me?" he asks.

You look up at his distant expression.

"No. Never," you promise. "I'll be here as long as you want me here."

He lets out a relieved breath and smiles.

"I'm... happy to hear it. I quite like your company as well," he smiles.

You return to holding him tight. He's comforting and you're always safe when you're with him.

Whatever dangers the universe has prepared for you, you want to face them with him at your side.

You wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't often write with this pairing, but I get quite a few requests for it so here you go!  
> Please let me know what you think so I can continue to improve my character x reader works :)  
> I'll make a collection for all my Dhawan!Master x Reader fics a some point lol  
> I hope you enjoyed this little work of mine. Have a great day <3


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